Qingwei's heart was filled with bitterness. Dammit, since three days ago, he was the only one left of the entire sect's high-level combat force—essentially the leadership team.
Sitting in the seat of honor in the discussion hall, he stared at the empty hall, the mountain of files waiting for his review on the desk, and the ledgers and expense breakdowns that he couldn't understand at all. For the first time, he began to miss Zixiao.
At least when Zixiao was around, Qingwei didn't have to worry about things like the transfer of power or sect expenses.
Zixiao's desire for control was pathologically strong. From sect expenses to disciple promotions, everything had to go through his hands. Qingwei only had to teach the sect's disciples sword arts and focus on his own cultivation.
No wonder Zixiao couldn't beat Qingwei despite having the same cultivation level. He held onto power so tightly that his hands had gone stiff. How could he still hold a sword steadily?
Currently, the Central Continent Alliance was a complete mess of bad accounts. And it wasn't the kind of mess that could be sorted out with a simple audit.
It was the kind where you opened the first page and thought it looked fine, but by the third page, you realized the first page was entirely fabricated. If you refused to believe it and flipped to the end, you would find that the entire ledger was just plagiarized from somewhere else.
The Central Continent Alliance was a coalition-based sect. Several major sects entrenched in various regions had joined forces, putting together a highly unreliable group of elders and enshriners to suppress smaller sects.
Every time they swallowed a smaller sect, they would slaughter the strong who refused to submit. The weak who were willing to bow would obediently become their lapdogs, paying allegiance to new masters. Those who wanted to learn the sword learned the sword, and those who wanted to refine elixirs refined elixirs.
As for the spells and techniques they originally practiced, they were all confiscated by the Library. If they wanted to continue studying them, they had to pay to access them there.
Though it was said to be a coalition of several super sects, it was actually just a makeshift crew.
Back then, the leader of the Central Continent Alliance's Sword Peak was none other than Sword Immortal Tianxia, the master of Qingwei and Zixiao.
Additionally, the top elixir-refining sect at the time, the Medicine Sect, had joined, along with a bunch of talisman-drawing spellcasters, and finally, the Su family of the Beast Taming Sect.
At the time, they rallied under the banner of “jointly resisting the Formless Spirits and seeking the secrets of ascension,” promising to slay demons, support weak sects, and prevent the strong from bullying the weak.
The words were beautiful, and since the top experts of that generation were all involved, everyone believed them.
In the beginning, they did live up to it. If the north couldn't hold, they would help the north. If the south was about to fall, they would support the south, maintaining a respectable facade of “everyone holding the line together.”
Until the East Sea exploded. The sea calamity in the east spiraled completely out of control. Calamity Sovereigns were mere side shows; a half-step Dao Sovereign Sea Spirit had emerged. A half-step Dao Sovereign... Even now, Qingwei felt a lingering dread whenever he recalled that disaster.
Sword Immortal Tianxia was severely injured, the two from the Su family never returned, and the mountain gate of the Yonglu Divine Sect, which originally guarded the east, sank into a vast ocean.
Their sect master died in battle, and the remaining elders and disciples were either killed or scattered. In the end, they were reduced to a minor sect in the Central Continent, left to be bullied by others.
The half-step Dao Sovereign sea calamity spirit brought towering waves that battered the entire eastern part of the continent, swallowing at least half of the land in the east, which was the most prosperous region.
It was historically known as the Great East Sea Tragedy. That battle wiped out an entire generation, along with the pride in their hearts.
From then on, people paled at the mere mention of the Formless Spirits. No one knew why they grew stronger and stronger, or how they managed to make a comeback time and after.
They only knew that once their blood relatives, lovers, and close friends marched onto the battlefield, they were never heard from again.
The Central Continent Alliance declined from that point on. A year later, Sword Immortal Tianxia succumbed to his severe injuries and passed away. On his deathbed, he uttered the words that Qingwei would remember for the rest of his life:
“The two of you must support each other and strengthen our Sword Sect!”
However, not long after their master's death, the original Xiaguang Sword Sect split into the Azure Cloud Sword Sect and the Zixiao Sword Sect. As for why they split... it was best left unmentioned.
Some disciples of the Talisman Sect, who used to be quite prominent in the Central Continent Alliance, chose to learn the sword directly, while others followed those who returned from the east to establish the new Yonglu Divine Sect.
Thus, the Talisman Sect was completely pulled out of the Central Continent. Then there was Su Li's Beast Taming Sect, and the Elixir Hall, which was established with the strong backing of the Medicine Sect.
If the Sword Sect were united, they would certainly hold the authority to manage all affairs in the Central Continent. But now, they were split into two factions.
The Elixir Hall, representing the Medicine Sect, was not good at fighting. When they clashed with those brutes from the Sword Sect, it was like a scholar meeting a soldier—no amount of reasoning would work.
The Beast Taming Sect was also in a transition period where the old were useless, the young had not yet matured, and the middle generation was gone. Their situation was extremely awkward.
Therefore, the interior of the Central Continent Alliance had always been divided into three rival factions. None could overpower the others, and none could control the others.
Since internal conflicts could not be resolved, they began to deflect them outward, starting to bully smaller sects.
For example, the classic case of the Joyous Union Sect. Those women were minding their own business, cultivating in their sect, yet the Alliance immediately branded them an evil sect.
Even if they engaged in dual cultivation to absorb energy, it was always consensual. According to their sect rules, absorbing someone to death would result in the crippling of one's cultivation and the extraction of one's spiritual root. It wasn't like he hadn't tried... cough, cough.
But the sword cultivators under Zixiao's command had gone mad with bloodlust and did not care about any of that. Those who submitted obediently sealed their spiritual energy and let these sword cultivators use them for cultivation.
Once they were done, they would bring them back to the Central Continent Alliance to be used as cultivation vessels. Anyone who dared to resist would simply face a blade, leaving a bowl-sized scar on their neck.
Back then, it seemed only one person from the Joyous Union Sect managed to escape. The rest were either used as cultivation vessels or died.
As for the Elixir Hall, looking at the disciples who had used calamity seeds, even a fool like Qingwei knew how they had deflected their internal conflicts.
Countless small sects fell. Those practicing unorthodox paths, refining medicine, or cultivating the sword... they all became firewood for the Central Continent Alliance. Yet, the core of this firewood grew increasingly damp, emitting nothing but thick black smoke that shrouded the sky.
The elders were corrupt, the administrative organs defunct, and the leaders seized power only to ignore their duties, focusing solely on raising their own cultivation. This sect was completely rotten to the core.
Qingwei sighed. He truly didn't know how to save it, nor did he want to care anymore. It would be better to hand this mess over to Su Li. This sect should be left to the younger generation. He was already old.
Watching the approaching red figure, he slowly stood up, massaging his lower back which had grown sore from sitting too long, and spoke in a calm tone:
“Sect Master Su, this is Master Du of Moyan Commandery. You two can discuss the matters regarding the sect's reconstruction. I am a bit tired.”
He walked out of the main hall and stood in the sunlight, looking up at the gray sky. “Master, I have grown old too.” He stood there just like that, as if looking back on his entire life.
His only regret was that he hadn't toughened up sooner, which had harmed Jiang Ci, harmed his senior brother, harmed so many people, and failed to live up to his master's dying wish.
The sunlight shone upon him, stretching his silhouette thin and long.
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